RC Oasis of the Seas or Carnival Breeze?

[HummerMan3]

Hi folks, Just booked my 4th ever cruise for November 2018 on Oasis of the Seas! The fare is fully refundable at this point, so I'm researching between this ship and the Carnival Breeze. Any considerations to sway me one way or another? My wife and I will be 33, our son, 4 at the time of sailing. We are generally spend thrifts, so although overall price of the cruise isn't too great of a consideration for us, the VALUE is a high priority. Our dates are flexible, but we prefer to travel out of Port Canaveral unless there is an exceptional value to be had at Port Everglades or Miami. A 6-8 day itinerary and ocean-view balcony are also a must for us. In my research between the two ships so far, I've compiles a list of pros for both.

 

Carnival Breeze pros: Better ports, $250 cheaper, better alternative dining options, sauna included in the cruise fare.

 

Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas pros: Awesome ship activities (zip line, Flow Rider, ice skating, etc), better food options in the MDR, slightly better reviews overall.

 

Anything else you might add that I should consider? One final note, our son has special needs and would benefit from a kids' club staff that is knowledgeable in autism.

 

Thanks! :)

[Big_G]

No other cruise line has comparable ships so if you haven't sailed Oasis before and given that price difference, I'd pick Oasis. If you've sailed an Oasis Class before and not the Breeze then I would give Breeze another look but probably stick with Oasis.

[Clarea]

Even though I know almost nothing about Breeze, it's hard to imagine a ship with more dining options than Oasis class. What do you mean by "better alternative dining options"?

[matj2000]

My biggest issue why I don't even consider Carnival is the "non-refundable" deposits.

 

I book all trips very far in advance without knowing for sure if I can actually go.

 

At no time will I ever book anything unless I can get all my money back.

 

This is deal breaker and now I have seen it with Princess & HAL...

[N2DFIRE]

If you were happy with and can afford the oasis price. I would go with the Oasis and don't look back. I've been on both ships and the Oasis is a way better and prettier ship hands down. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed both ships. But the Oasis is better and it doesn't tender. Which was terrible on the breeze

 

 

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[renza]

We have been on oasis, allure, and harmony in June. We have cruised 4 times on carnival breeze. My teens favorite ship is breeze. We find the food and food options on the breeze awesome. From guys burgers, taco burrito bar, deli, salad bar, BBQ place, all free and 24 hour ice cream, and pizza. Food in dining room is better IMO too. We cruise 2 times a year and no doubt love both ships. Oasis is definitely a beautiful ship with awesome entertainment, but we love all the comedy shows on carnival. Not just one for a week but 4-5 in a week. We r so sad breeze moved from Miami. We took carnival magic last month, and really wanted breeze back. So many pros and cons to both. Enjoy either way.

 

 

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[teesmc]

Just sailed Oasis last week and Breeze last April. We had this debate in the ride on Sunday. My 8 and 10 YO boys liked Breeze better overall, but loved Oasis too. Hubby and I liked Breeze MDR food and desserts better than Oasis...but overall preferred Oasis ports and the 4 pools and number of places to eat. We did miss Guy's burgers and Burritos. Also missed the FTTF on Carnival. Tough call, but can't go wrong on either.

[grapau27]

Just sailed Oasis last week and Breeze last April. We had this debate in the ride on Sunday. My 8 and 10 YO boys liked Breeze better overall, but loved Oasis too. Hubby and I liked Breeze MDR food and desserts better than Oasis...but overall preferred Oasis ports and the 4 pools and number of places to eat. We did miss Guy's burgers and Burritos. Also missed the FTTF on Carnival. Tough call, but can't go wrong on either.

We have never fancied Carnival as their reputation does not appeal to us.

Now RC is something else, we have been on Allure and Harmony 3 times which are both oasis class and wow,wow wow now thats what i call fantastic ships.

 

43 cruises and counting.

[HummerMan3]

Even though I know almost nothing about Breeze, it's hard to imagine a ship with more dining options than Oasis class. What do you mean by "better alternative dining options"?

 

I'm a pretty picky eater. The counter-service Indian Tandoor place, Guy's Burgers, burrito bar, and Asian wok are much more appealing to me than what's on the menu at Giovanni's Table, Chops, Vintages, etc. But on the MDR menus for Carnival that I saw, there was not much at all that struck my fancy.

[Clarea]

I'm a pretty picky eater. The counter-service Indian Tandoor place, Guy's Burgers, burrito bar, and Asian wok are much more appealing to me than what's on the menu at Giovanni's Table, Chops, Vintages, etc. But on the MDR menus for Carnival that I saw, there was not much at all that struck my fancy.

Understood.

 

 

Remember to consider the "free" venues on Oasis: Park Cafe, Sorrento's, Cafe Promenade, Wipeout Cafe, Boardwalk Dog House, Vitality Cafe, Solarium Cafe (breakfast and lunch), and Johnny Rockets (breakfast).

[racerxspeedy]

The OP didn't mention if production shows were important, but I much prefer the Oasis class shows to anything offered on any other ship.

The shows on the Breeze pale in comparison.

 

The pools on Breeze are way too crowded IMHO.

 

I didn't think it was possible to have a pool area more crowded than Oasis Class, but the Breeze was worse.

[framboesa]

I love - love - Royal Caribbean, is my favourite cruiseline hands down...but (guess what?! ) my favourite ship (until now) is Carnival Breeze.

Love the caribbean decor (keeps you smilling all day long), the night tropical parties, the Guys Burguer, the burritos, the pool area, the barbecue on sea days ... never cruised Oasis class (yet, it's in our plans next year) but Carnival Breeze is my favourite ship.

Likings and dislikes is a very personal thing...you should compare what makes your vacations memorable, and it can be so diferent from one person to another ;)

[S.S.Oceanlover]

My biggest issue why I don't even consider Carnival is the "non-refundable" deposits.

 

I book all trips very far in advance without knowing for sure if I can actually go.

 

At no time will I ever book anything unless I can get all my money back.

 

This is deal breaker and now I have seen it with Princess & HAL...

 

why don't you just pay the extra $20pp and book the totally refundable fare?

 

Bill

[HummerMan3]

Thanks for all the feedback! At the moment, I'm leaning toward the Oasis, however, I think the wife prefers the ports of the Breeze. At least I have plenty of time to decide.

[Lordnlkon]

Having sailed both Carnival and Royal multiple times, here are my thoughts:

 

Positives for Carnival:

 

Food is better on Carnival

Specialty restaurants are better on Carnival

Comedy clubs are way better on Carnival

Spa area is way way way better on the dream class ships

 

Positives for Royal:

 

Layout of ships are better on Royal

Carnival doesn't have anything remotely like the Royal promenade

Oasis class ships are almost twice the size of the Dream class ships and actually feel less crowded even though they have more people

Royal has way better production shows than Carnival and it's not even close

And the biggest reason we sail Royal is that they have the flowrider

[trihawks1]

My daughter went on Oasis in December 2015 and loved it. She would have had more fun had her dad and I went as planned. However, I broke my left leg and left elbow 6 weeks before the cruise and had to cancel (thank god for trip insurance). She still had two friends (guys) that were along but oh well. Make and her new husband went on Carnival Breeze in November 2016 for their honeymoon. Overall, she preferred Oasis. The port was easy to get to over Breeze for one thing. She missed the promenade on Oasis. She has cruised once on celebrity, 2 times on RCCL and once on carnival. She won't do carnival again but nothing specific just preferred RCCL. Her new husband as 36 she was 27.

 

 

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[Mlkkc]

I love the food on Breeze did it twice the shows aren't good but the ship is cozy,never been on a oasis class ship. I just switch my cruise from Allure to Freedom of the seas because it seem like more work than relaxation. We still may do a Oais class ship next year but we wanted to relax and enjoy the ocean and not feel like a mall and having to make reservations for shows. With that said I love RCL over Carnival and I'm emerald class on Royal and gold on Carnival. Whatever you do have fun!

[sloanesq]

Royal Caribbean is certified by Autism on the Seas. I don't know if Carnival is.

 

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[jamesr3939]

Very hard choice, but been on both and would have to give the edge to Oasis. We don't have young children we did travel with our niece and her four year old daughter; they loved the Oasis. We liked it so much we are going in October with our kids and two granddaughters (5 & 3) and we know they will love it.

 

Heck, worse thing is you're still on a cruise!!!!!

[ourfamilylovescruising]

have you look at NCL either the getaway or escape we are doing the bliss on Nov.2018 but for my teenagers these ships are their favorite and the bliss will have go carts instead of a rope course and you can get free drinks and specialty dinning included with your fare.

[HummerMan3]

have you look at NCL either the getaway or escape we are doing the bliss on Nov.2018 but for my teenagers these ships are their favorite and the bliss will have go carts instead of a rope course and you can get free drinks and specialty dinning included with your fare.

 

I may have to look into Norwegian a little more. The Breakaway class looks great, but I read a lot of reviews that given the location of the casino, cigarette smoke pervades a lot of the public areas. Our family ABHORS smoke. Any thoughts on the smokiness level among these three classes of ships? (Oasis, Breeze, NCL Breakaway/Getaway?)

[cruzeluver]

Just to clarify : on Carnival only the Early Saver rate requires a non-refundable deposit. With other rates the deposit is 100% refundable up until final payment date.Would not want someone thinking otherwise.

 

We cruised in February on Breeze's sister ship, Carnival Magic and had a good time. Lots of included food options, fun water park, adults-only Serenity is very nice and the wrap-around outside deck (The Lanai) is terrific. We will ONLY book Dream class or Sunshine on Carnival. Their other ships are far too dated looking and feel very cheap to us.

 

Sailing Oasis class for the first time in October and very excited as our cruises on Voyager and Freedom class were among our best.

[tanyaewa]

In your shoes, I would choose based on itinerary.